Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have reached a settlement in their legal battle over the production of their 2024 film "It Ends With Us."The settlement announced Monday came two weeks before they were to go to trial in New York on Lively's claims that Baldoni conspired with publicists to preemptively destroy her reputation after she privately accused him of sexually harassing her on the movie set."Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors - and all survivors - is a goal that we stand behind," Lively and Baldoni said in a joint statement issued through their lawyers. "It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment online," the joint statement reads.The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.Lively, 38, had claimed that Baldoni, 42, conspired with publicists to preemptively destroy her reputation after she privately accused him of sexually harassing her on the movie set.Baldoni had denied harassing her or orchestrating a smear campaign.
He'd claimed the complaints about his behavior were made up by Lively as part of an effort to seize creative control of the movie.A federal judge in New York had previously tossed out Lively's sexual harassment claims, originally brought in 2024, but left intact two retaliation claims and said some sexual harassment allegations may be put to a jury to support those claims.Judge Lewis J.
Liman ruled that Lively couldn't pursue the harassment claims under federal law because she was an independent contractor rather than an employee when she worked on the movie.Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, had countersued Lively and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of defamation and extortion.
Those claims were dismissed last June.A trial on the remaining claims had been set to begin later this month.In their joint statement, the part...